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Archive for v5

Cowon announced the X9 – nicknamed “Super Player” – which would make sense as a logical upgrade/sidestep to last year’s X7. But actually it’s more of a rehash of the ancient O2 PMP, released four years ago, in 2008 (ignoring the newer V5′s existence in several aspects).

The X7 is a 80-160GB HDD player with Bluetooth capabilites, the new X9 is a flash memory player without Bluetooth, but a MicroSD slot instead. Internal capacities of the X9 go up to 32GB – same as the ancient O2. Both the X7 and X9 have embarrassingly bad screen resolutions of 480×272 at 4.3″ – same as the ancient O2. Seems Cowon had a few old resistive touch screens left over to recycle (the slightly less ancient V5 HD in comparison had a much more reasonable 800×480 resolution at 4.7″, but by today’s standards that is the extreme lower limit for comparable screen sizes as well).

Additional tactile buttons for FFWD/REW/skip might make the X9 a more desirable player for on the go than the X7, which only had a unified menu/play/pause and two volume buttons. Cowon claims a battery life of up to 110 hours for audio and 13 hours for video on the X9. If real-life usage comes close to these synthetic benchmarks, it would be quite amazing for nomads and globetrotters. Cowon’s usual plethora of supported file formats and BBE sound enhancements are of course not missing from the X9. An additional annoyance is Cowon’s use of a proprietary USB connector instead of a standard mini/microUSB port.

iAudiophile moderator Kizune posted a comparison chart of the X7′s and X9′s differences, for your perusal.

Snooping around Cowon’s Korean website I found a new rehash of the V5 PMP, the “Smart Study” V5S. It seems this version is specifically made for the fiercely competitive high-pressure world of Korean education, loaded with lots of gimmicky study apps, dictionaries, and the like. This PMP will probably never see the light of day outside of South Korea, but the V5S’ firmware might be worth a second glance.

One of the main issues of the V5 (as described in our V5 review) is it’s tacky, counterintuitive, backwards user interface. Indirectly, Cowon seem to admit they botched the V5 interface, since the V5S comes with an UI that resembles the Android-powered D3 more than it’s hardware-identical sibling, the old V5. The V5S’ main screen is much tidier than the V5′s, with real icons that actually seem to do something, and main functions don’t seem to be hidden in subcategories as well.

How is this relevant, since the V5S is very likely to be sold in Korea only? Well, maybe the V5S firmware could be put on the V5, since both their hardwares seems to be exactly the same. If it’s not locked down in some way, it might work right away – if not, some hacker might certainly find an easy way to fix that. Of course the V5 is anything but a popular player, so community support is minimal – but who knows, it’s worth a try in any case. Unfortunately my V5 is the only Cowon that ever bricked, so I can’t try the V5S firmware on it.

Update: Rafa got this firmware working on a regular V5. Only the main screen changed, everything else is the same – besides the additional Korean study apps. Read the installation instructions on iAudiophile.

What do you get when you pair decent quality audio/video hardware with a head-scratchingly bad user interface, backwards usability, and disregard for anything that makes sense to the average user? Well, a Cowon PMP, of course. While this was true for the Cowon O2 I reviewed a bit over a year ago, I’ve taken it upon me to go through the same pain again, this time with the Cowon V5.

Grahm already wrote a short preview article about the V5. While I agree with his evaluation that the V5 is a nice upgrade to the O2 on the surface, the mess that is hidden beneath when one tries to use the V5 on a daily basis is even worse.

Read on for the not so surprising in-depth review of this portable media player.

Simply put the Cowon V5 is a really nice upgrade to the O2. The V5’s form factor is similar to O2 but it’s a bit thinner and it feels sturdier. Not that the O2 had a bad build quality, but the V5 feels more dense and less hollow compared to the V5- plastic, buttons, and screen remain more or less identical.

However, the big news is how well it handles 720p content and its robust HDMI and component out video out. The O2 worked, but it wasn’t as smooth as the V5 and there were always issues with trying to get the screen sized right for the TV you plugged it into. The V5 is straight forward HDMI plug and play with the optional cable. This is no longer a sketchy dongle (lol), it’s a rather robust proprietary plug on the player itself, rather than micro-usb-ish plug seen on other Cowon players.

abi Editor's Choice

SanDisk Sansa Clip+

The Clip+ has a fantastic little form factor; somewhat cheap in build quality but very rugged. The interface is simple and relatively straightforward. The features on the Clip are more or less average, however it supports the alternative Rockbox firmware which provides tons of additional options (gapless playback, Replaygain, playlists, Last.fm scrobbling, etc). Read the full review or go ahead and buy it.

Cowon J3

The J3 is a fantastic PMP with a very nice AMOLED screen and tons of features. It sports Cowon's trademark BBE sound enhancements, and offers a customizable user interface with strong support by our user community. You can usually find it at Amazon for the best price - and don't forget to check out our review.

Microsoft Zune HD

Sure, many of us are not big fans of the walled garden, but there are a lot of great things going on with the Zune: sturdy hardware, ultra easy to use user interface, and a media player that is worthy of Editor’s Choice. You can check out our Zune HD review or stop by our Zune forums for the latest info and gossip.

Phonak Audéo PFE

Phonak Audéo PFE offer outstanding clarity and precision; natural, dynamic mids and treble, and decent bass for a single armature in-ear phone. They handle dense, complex music very well. The PFE work well with most acoustic and some electronic music genres, but bassheads might have to look at other alternatives. They're great for sports as well, since they fit very securely. Check out our review.

Hippo VB

The Hippo VB (Variable Bass) offers a serious subwoofer for on the go, right in your head. They don’t just deliver generous quantities of punchy, textured bass, but good audio quality over the whole frequency range with decent clarity and exceptional soundstage. Exchangeable bass ports let you customize their sound to your liking. Read our in-depth Hippo VB review.

Soundmagic E10 / E30

The Soundmagic E10 and E30 are basically right in the middle between the Phonak PFE and Hippo VB - not too analytical sounding, not too bass heavy. The E10 provide a bit more bass, the E30 a bit more clarity. Both come with a very fair price tag considering the sound quality they deliver - a great choice for the audio aficionado on a budget. Read our E10 and E30 reviews for more info.